Oil and vinegar is an integral part of Italian food. Italian cuisine is an example of the Mediterranean diet, which is appealing for its healthy nature derived from olive oil, grains, vegetables, herbs, fish, cheese, fruit and wine. Each are established elements esteemed as ideal for a modern diet. It makes sense for your health to include quality olive oil and vinegar in your kitchen’s pantry and on your table.

Oil and vinegar keep well as pantry staples and help set Tuscan cooking apart from that of any other country as easy to use ingredients especially with the oft spontaneity of preparation. Quality oil and vinegar can transform an Italian recipe from routine to a creative culinary experience.

Olive oil and vinegar are often viewed exclusively as ingredients of salad dressings. Chefs rely on the variations and nuances of both vinegars and olive oils to add certain tastes and characteristics to numerous cuisines. Salad dressings are the common results of mixing oil and vinegar together, but an oil and vinegar mixture can also add distinction to seafood, vegetables, pastas, meats, and grains. Oil and vinegar marinades and emulsified sauces offer additional flavor to food preparations. A good Balsamic vinaigrette recipe is exquisite if prepared properly.

Oil and vinegar are now gourmet essentials. They are no longer just simple ingredients that we often regarded as mundane. Although olive oil and vinegar have been around for thousands of years, recent nutritional research has documented their true health value and benefits. The extremely low level of coronary disease in the Mediterranean region has been found to be indicative of the diet of the cultures present there. Olive oil is one of the key contributors to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

Personal preference and use of oil and vinegar can be objective, but the quality of both is directly reflective of the producer’s standards of excellence. Freshness, production processing, storage and bottling are what distinguish one variety from another.

With the popularity of imported premium olive oils and vinegars; oil and vinegar cruets are a necessary addition to the gourmet kitchen. Along with gourmet olive oil and balsamic vinegar; oil drizzlers, dipping dishes, and cruets make ideal gifts that tastefully compliments every culinary décor. When shopping for Christmas, housewarming, birthday, or anniversary gifts for the chef, browse a selection of elegant kitchen gourmet glassware. Each cruet is beautifully and individually hand blown. They are elegant, yet durable and crafted for everyday cooking use.
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Vinaigrette for smoked sockeye salmon or grilled salmon

Ingredients:
Half of a crushed garlic clove
Quarter of a cup of apple cider vinegar
One cup of buttermilk (light variety)
Two thirds of a cup of authentic or homemade mayonnaise
Quarter of a cup of sour cream
2 tbs fresh chives that have been minced

Method:
Mix the crushed or minced garlic with the cider vinegar and leave for about twenty minutes so that the vinegar is infused with the flavour of the garlic.

Combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise and sour cream separately. Whisk together and add the vinegar and garlic combination slowly as well as the minced chives, and season with a little salt and pepper. When all ingredients have been whisked together your buttermilk vinaigrette is complete.

This recipe will provide for about two cups of dressing or enough for sixteen servings.

This vinaigrette was created to enhance and complement both smoked salmon and salmon that has been seared in a pan and a green salad.
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Italian Tomato and Herb Panzanella

This recipe provides for four servings and will take about one hour to prepare

Ingredients:
Quarter of a cup of superior olive oil
Four cups of unsliced cubed white bread, quarter of an inch in size (preferably stale)
Three crushed garlic cloves
Sea salt to season
Black pepper, freshly ground
One small red chilli put through a mincer
Four black tomatoes, medium sized and chopped coarsely
One and a quarter cups of assorted grape and cherry tomatoes (assorted colors preferred)
Half a cup of red onion chopped finely
Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar
One tablespoon of fresh oregano that has been chopped coarsely
One quarter of a cup of each:
Coarsely chopped basil and parsley
One cup of watercress

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the cubed bread with the sea salt until golden in color. This should take about ten minutes.

The garlic and chilli should then be added to the pan and sautéed with the cubed bread so that it is well coated. Remove the pan from the heat after about two minutes ensuring that the bread has not become too brown.

Combine the tomatoes, onion vinegar and black pepper in a large bowl and add the cubed bread and lightly toss all the ingredients together so that the bread is coated with the mixture. The mixture should be put aside for about half an hour so that all the flavours fuse together.

Finally, toss together the oregano, basil, parsley and watercress to the bread mixture. Adjust the seasoning and finish by drizzling a little olive oil.
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Making a home made vinaigrette

Making your own dressing is a great skill to have. You can make your own vinaigrette out of every day items in your pantry. More importantly, it is much more economical that constantly buying bottled dressings.

When making a vinaigrette, you will always mix 3 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar. However, if you are substituting a lesser amount of lemon juice for the vinegar, you will have to adjust your level of olive oil at the
same ratio. Since you are going to be tasting the olive oil directly, you will want to make sure you use the best available.

Making vinaigrette is a two handed job – one to whisk and one to add the oil. During the process, you need to make sure that the bowl stays stationary. You can either used a towel (moisten it and wrap it around perimeter of bowl) or if you have one, a rubber bottomed bowl. You will need something that has traction on the counter.

The first thing you are going to do is add a bit of salt to the vinegar and let it dissolve. You can add it later but vinegar allows the salt to dissolve more readily that it will once you have added the oil. Put in a dollop of Dijon, this will serve as your emulsifier for the oil and vinegar. Whisk until mustard is combined then you will gradually fold in the olive oil, pouring it in a slow steady stream as you constantly whisk. Continue the process until the dressing has emulsified completely. Taste, if you wish you may add additional salt and pepper at this time to get the proper flavor.

This is only a basic vinaigrette, you can play with it by using different infused oils or flavored vinegars (i.e. champagne, cider). You can also add things like citrus, herbs, garlic and shallots. This dressing can be used for pasta salad, drizzled over veggies, tossed with your greens or as a marinade for meats and fish.

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The Very Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

One part vinegar to three parts oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and Dijon mustard (proportions of a teaspoonful of mustard for a half cup of dressing) are the classic proportions of vinaigrette dressing. Because the taste of balsamic vinegar can be very strong, or in cases of olive oil or a light vegetable oil, proportions recommended are one part vinegar to four or five of oil. You may also enjoy additional flavorings of herbs like chives and sage, finely chopped ginger root or shallot. It all depends on your taste preference and what the dressing will accompany, but some people find garlic is not good with the sweetness of vinegar.

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Roasted asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Fresh asparagus is usually available in the early spring. Any number of fresh or seasonal vegetables can be used with this recipe. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, baby squash or zucchini, will work well. Do not overcook the vegetables. You may want to adjust the time you blanch the vegetables according to their size and how they are cut.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus tips and spears, trimmed
one quarter cup extra-virgin olive oil
one tablespoon Gran reserva balsamic vinegar
a dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly oil a flat baking sheet. Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add salt. Blanched asparagus spears in the boiling water for 30 seconds.
Remove asparagus and immediately cover them in ice water to stop the cooking. Be sure to fully immerse the vegetables. Drain asparagus and place on the oiled baking sheet. Drizzle asparagus with extra-virgin olive oil and roast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Asparagus should be tender and lightly browned. Remove asparagus spears and tips from the baking sheet, place on a serving platter, and drizzle liberally with balsamic vinegar.
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Chicken Cacciatore recipe with vinegar

2 2.5-lb fryer’s, cut into portion size pieces
one half cup all-purpose flour
one half teaspoon salt
quarter teaspoon pepper
one half cup olive oil
two cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
eight strips of anchovy, chopped fine
one half cup wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 cup Burgundy wine, you can also use Chianti wine
one quarter cup tomato sauce
one half cup hot water with one tablespoon instant chicken bouillon dissolved in it

Dry pieces of chicken with paper towels. Mix the flour, salt and pepper together well and sprinkle on all sides of the chicken pieces. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a tightfitting cover. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic begins to brown, then remove the garlic and discard. Sauté the pieces of chicken in this oil until they are golden brown on all sides.
Mix together the rosemary, anchovies and vinegar. Add this to the sautéed chicken. Mix together the wine, tomato sauce, and hot water with chicken bouillon. Add this mixture to the chicken. Cover tightly and continue to simmer for 25 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken can be pierced with a fork. Serve hot. Makes six servings.

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Soft boiled egg with grilled spring asparagus

The best time of year for fresh asparagus is spring! Nothing compares to fresh farm cultivated asparagus for flavor and texture. When bought straight from your local farm you can be sure that is has been recently harvested and because of this it doesn’t need much embellishment to bring out the quality and taste.

For this recipe you will need the following:

2 Free range eggs
1 handful of freshly washed watercress
1 tbs of red wine vinegar
1 Finely chopped shallot
6 or 8 Trimmed asparagus spears
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
To taste freshly ground black pepper and some sea salt
Extra olive oil for basting the asparagus

Method:

You will need to fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. When the water has reached boiling point place asparagus spears in the saucepan and leave for two minutes to blanch.

When the asparagus spears have blanched remove them from the pan and rinse under cold water to prevent them from overcooking and becoming too soft. Also, the green color found in asparagus is retained by this method.

Boil the two free range eggs that you have used to blanch the asparagus. The cooking time should be about six and a half minutes. Place the eggs under running water in the same way as the asparagus until they are cold.

To chargrill the asparagus spears place in a ridged or plain heavy bottom pan that has been heated to a high temperature. Or, if preferred the asparagus could be placed under a well heated grill. Ensure that all asparagus spears are brushed with some extra olive oil before and make sure they are turned periodically during the grilling process.

Meanwhile, the finely chopped shallot, olive oil and red wine vinegar should be combined either with a whisk or in a container.

To present the asparagus spears and other ingredients place the asparagus on each plate with half of the boiled egg on top and garnish with the watercress. The shallot, oil and vinegar dressing should be poured over each plate and the entire dish should now be seasoned with a little pepper and crushed sea salt.
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Easy, Classic vinaigrette dressing

Ingredients required for two portions

2 Tablespoons of either balsamic, red or white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoons of mustard
Salt and pepper to season
Between four to six tablespoons of either extra virgin olive oil or canola
A little of either maple syrup of honey (optional)

In a small bowl mix together vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
When these ingredients have been whisked together add four tablespoons of oil by gradually pouring a measured flow into the vinegar and mustard mixture.
Sample the flavor of the dressing on a piece of lettuce. If necessary, adjust the seasoning as required. Finally, add a little honey or maple syrup for added sweetness if desired. For extra flavor and texture fresh finely chopped herbs can be added. Half a teaspoon of shallot or a teaspoon of fresh herbs can make a wonderful addition to a delicious salad dressing.
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